


Typical Parker Luck - A Peter Parker Love Story

by H_V_Hart



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Build, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 16,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/H_V_Hart/pseuds/H_V_Hart
Summary: ONGOING - - - UPDATES EVERY MONDAYEvelyn Xavier is a winged mutant who just wants to lead a normal, teenage life. But after being asked to join the Avengers, Eve meets a boy from her school who just so happens to also be a part of the Stark Internship Program. Now both on a team to save the world, how will Eve and Peter be together if every mission is a fight to stay alive?
Relationships: Peter Parker/OC
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. New York

Hi all, this story contains spoilers for Avengers movies as well as characters from the X-Men universe. If you are caught up with all Avengers-based Marvel movies, read on! Additionally, minimal X-Men knowledge is needed as this story mainly follows the Avengers.

Happy Reading!

\- H.

Eve's POV

As I sat in the back of the car, listening to Charles and Hank as they spoke about the day's events, I couldn't help but look out the window at the dull, New York City traffic.

Charles liked to pick me up from school rather than let me take the bus home because of my mutation. But as Charles uses a wheelchair, Hank had to drive.

I didn't mind not having to take the school bus. It would have been much too crowded in a seat with my wings. They're a dark brown color, and so large that they allow me to fly. But the wings are my mutation; a gift, Charles calls them. Damn him for being so—

A car honked as the light had barely turned green.

I wished I could just fly myself home and avoid all this traffic.

We had reached the heart of New York City, approaching Times Square.

"How was school today, Evelyn?" Charles asked from the passenger seat.

Charles was the only person I allowed to call me Evelyn. He has always been like a brother or father to me. Charles is my legal guardian after all. Though we are not blood-related, I had taken the Xavier last name. 

"Fine, I suppose," I answered, leaning my head on the window ledge.

"And that math test you had been worried about?" Charles began.

"Not sure," I mumbled. "It hasn't been graded yet."

"Well, you're always welcome to transfer to my scho—"

"I know, Charles," I cut him off. "I'm not being bullied. I'm fine attending with all the regulars."

"Good," Charles forced himself to say. "Good, I'm glad you're fitting in."

The car fell silent. It seemed like we'd stuck in traffic for awhile so Hank turned in the radio.

I had decided to move to a public school for my Sophomore year when my freshman year at Charles' School for Gifted Youngsters just wasn't challenging enough for me. Sure, I never had to worry about being bullied for my wings because the whole student-body and faculty were mutants, but the work seemed almost too easy. Maybe teachers there just took it easy on us because a lot of the kids had a rough life prior to attending the Xavier school.

" _Reports coming from the Stark Tower for citizens to evacuate New York_ —" the car radio blurbed.

"What?" Hank asked the radio in disbelief.

Charles grabbed the dial, turning the volume up.

"New York, like New York city? Charles, what is this?" I asked, anxiously gripping my seat belt.

I looked up out the window to see Stark Tower standing tall over us.

"Charles, is there anyway you could you look into Stark Tower?" I asked.

"I don't know, but I'll try," Charles answered. He began concentrating. Charles closed his eyes and put two fingers to his temple.

I had rarely seen Charles use his mutation, but I was more focused on the radio report that had grown silent with fragments of static popping through.

"Hank," I started. He shushed me, concentrated on Charles.   
_"Hank,"_ I started once more. "Why's the radio gone silent?"

Charles came out of his trance and shrugged with no new information. 

Hank started at him, then me. "I don't know . . ." Hank began, fumbling with the knobs on the radio. "And I don't like not knowing."


	2. The First Battle

_BOOM!_

__

Something slammed into the side of our car with so much force the vehicle almost rolled onto its top.

I let out an involuntary shriek as adrenaline set in.

Charles turned around in his seat. "Evelyn, are you alright?" he asked quickly.

I nodded, my mind beginning to race at the sight of Hank passed out behind the wheel, most likely knocked unconscious on impact.

 _"Calm your mind, Eve . . ."_ Charles said within my head. _"Panicking will do you no good."_

I didn't listen. I began to unclip my seatbelt then my wings' harness. I kept my wings battened down because it was easier to ride in the car that way. 

"Whatever you do," Charles started, "do not leave this car. We're safest in here."

I looked out of the window. 

Smoke and debris had begun to fill the air outside.

Many cars around us were on fire. 

Emergency vehicle sirens could be heard in the distance.

Grand Central Station was being hammered with otherworldly energy. I realized whomever was attacking was in no way from Earth.

I threw open the battered car door and stepped out onto the street.

"Eve!" Charles shouted. "What're you doing?"

"I have to help!" I said. "This looks like it's a battle for mutants!" I yelled over the chaos. "You still got that handgun in the glove box?"

Charles looked down at the closed compartment then back to me, his eyes begging me to stay. "I don't want to lose you!" protested Charles.

"I know," I said. "But people need help. And the police definitely don't know how to deal with this, whatever this is."

He knew I was right. Reluctantly, Charles opened the glove box and passed me the gun through the shattered car window. Charles stuck his head out of his window. He sighed. Grabbing my hand he said, "Be careful, Eve. I love you."

I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you too. I'll be careful, I promise."

And with that I spread my wings and took off.

***

Hovering above the smoke from various car fires, I flapped my wings, kicking up dust. I had to get higher. I was making the smoke worse. I landed on a balcony of a building, overlooking the scene. Down below, people were running from the alien creatures.

In the second of calm, I clicked open the gun. Six bullets was all I had.

I cursed under my breath.

Scanning my surroundings, I picked up a rather sharp piece of debris to wield like a sword.

Then, I looked up. A massive blue wormhole swirled above New York, spitting out alien creatures on flying crafts. They appeared to be clad in a strange metal.

Before I could jump into the fray, the sky grew dark. Lighting zapped up the needle on the Chrysler Building. 

A golden-haired man in a red billowing cape hung off the needle atop the building, King Kong style, unfazed by the lightening storm around him.

A man dressed in all black ran with purpose on the street below me. 

He was busy firing arrows at the creatures. I didn't think a bow and arrow would be very efficient in a battle like this. Well, neither did my handgun. The man with the bow was running out of arrows and I would run out of bullets. Unless he had a backup plan, he was toast.

The aliens were closing in on him fast as more appeared from the wormhole.

I decided to intervene.

I jumped down from the ledge, kicking an alien in the head, then shooting it.

Arrow-guy looked up, confused. His bow was aimed at me, at the ready.

"I'm on your side!" I shouted. Another creature was coming towards him.

He looked at my wings then to my handgun. "Are you one of those Gods?" he asked while taking out another creature.

"Kind of!" I said, slashing another alien with the sharp piece of debris.

"Gonna have to report this," I heard him mumble. He grabbed his intercom and unclipped it from his vest. "Hawkeye to SHIELD, do you copy?"

_Hawkeye, real creative._

"Hawkeye, this is Fury, state your problem. Over," blurbed the intercom.

"Yeah . . . I have unexpected backup from a dark-haired female. Has dark, feathered wings, fighting with a 9mm and piece of rebar. Looks to be a teen but she possibly could be another God. Over." said Hawkeye.

"Copy that. We'll try and get eyes on her," the intercom blurbed back.

I did not like the idea of publicity. That was the last thing you wanted as a mutant: for a lot of regular people to know who and where you were and more importantly, that you could use a weapon.

I killed the alien advancing on Hawkeye while he was talking with whomever this "Fury" was, then flew up and out.


	3. The First Battle Con.

I flew away from Hawkeye and over a few blocks, coming to perch atop a smoldering building.

The area down below was still full of panicked civilians, running from the alien creatures.

Amidst all the chaos I saw a little girl, covered in dust. She stood in the middle of the crowd rushing past her, not one person asking her to whom she belonged to. It was as if she was frozen in place like Simba during the buffalo stampede. 

Then I realized what the crowd was running from: a giant, metallic snake-like creature was crashing down, down, down into the street below.

The little girl stared up at it with wide eyes as it drew closer, its momentum not ceasing.

The last of the people had scattered past her but her guardian was no where in sight. She remained stuck on the spot, the danger of the crashing metal beast growing closer.

In a flash, I took flight, swooping down to lift her up. As I flew, I clutched her close to my chest, flapping as hard as I could away from the collapsing buildings.

I peered down at her once out of the fray to see how she was taking to her sudden flight.

"Are you an angel?" she asked, looking up at me with large brown eyes. I landed safely away from the chaos, setting her down gently. "Are you gonna take me to heaven?"

"No, no," I said softly, kneeling down to her level. "I'm going to take you back to your mommy."

She nodded, brushing a tear from her eye.

"You gotta help me find her though, okay? What's your name?" I asked.

"Laura," she sniffed.

"Okay, Laura," I said. "Do you know your mommy's name?"

"Mary Tyler," Laura said. I wiped some dust from her face.

"Mary Tyler," I repeated. "What a very pretty name. "You must be Laura Tyler, then."

She nodded.

"Well, I can call around for her," I said. "Tell me if you see her."

I held Laura's small hand in mine as we tromped through the debris.

I could hear sirens in the distance but this block of New York was strangely quiet and deserted.

I hadn't the faintest idea of how to find the one Mary Tyler in the hundreds of thousands of people in New York, but I could damn well try.

I took Laura to the nearest police department where they could search records and hopefully get an address and phone number for Mrs. Tyler.

As the two of us neared the police department, I could see a perimeter of barricades had been set up around the building. As the officer standing guard let us through, I could feel his eyes questioning my mutation and what the hell I was doing with a little girl. 

The actual interior of the police department wasn't as crowded as I thought it'd be. The only people here seemed to be civilians who had ran for cover and this had been the closest building. I didn't want to leave Laura, but other people were in danger just like her.

As I knelt down again to explain why I had to leave, Laura gave me a hug and a thank you goodbye. I told her I was glad I could help and assured her the police would take care of her from there. 

Then I turned out the door, spread my wings, and flew away.   
  


By the end of the battle, I was beaten, bartered, and bruised. 

Alive. 

I was very much alive and that was all that mattered. 

My rebar-sword was practically dull after all the slashing through metal monsters. And on top of all the battle scars, I was pretty sure the whole world knew of the "Angel of New York."

 _Great_.

I gathered what strength I had left and flew over the streets of New York in an attempt to find Charles, Hank, or the car.

I came to the street where I originally left the car from. The line of traffic we'd been sitting in was crushed and torn. I rushed down to our car, or rather, what was left of it.

No bodies. A wave of relief washed over me. They had managed to escape, but I knew Charles couldn't make it over rough terrain in that chair of his. Hank may have carried him, but they still couldn't move that fast.

I only prayed I'd get some text or sign from him they were alive. They were probably worried sick about me right now.

Exhausted, I decided to fly out of New York City and get a hotel room or something with the emergency money I kept on me. I sure needed some well deserved rest before I could think to fly my way home.


	4. The Winchesters

A/N: If you don't know the show _Supernatural_ , that's okay! Little knowledge is needed for this chapter. Just wanted to add a little easter egg for my readers who do.

As always, happy reading,

\- H.

The outskirts of New York were farther away than I thought. I was exhausted from flying.

Then, out of adrenaline, my body simply gave up. I dropped out of the sky into the parking lot of a motel, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch.

 _Ouch_ , was my only thought.

I decided to have a little nap. And by nap, I mean I blacked out. 

***

I didn't know how much time had passed when I woke up. My eyes fluttered in pain. I stared up at a cream colored ceiling. It felt as if I was on a cheap motel bed. I heard voices and immediately shut my eyes again, still pretending to be out cold.

"Why is it in _here?"_ asked a male voice angrily.

"Dean, I wasn't going to leave it in the parking lot to die!" answered another man.

"What if it lures in its victims by pretending to be injured? Huh?" countered the one called Dean.

"C'mon," said the other man. "Why don't you call Cas and ask him to explain what it is? Maybe he can heal it and it'll be on our side."

Dean sighed. "Alright. Okay. But, Sammy, if this thing ain't an angel . . . I don't know what the hell it is."

"Right," said Sammy. "You shouldn't be able to see an angel's wings unless they let you or . . . if they're dead."

"So, I'm going to call Cas," said Dean. "You stay here and keep _this_ pointed at it."

I heard the distinct click of a gun being cocked.

"Got it," said Sam. Dean walked away to make the phone call to whomever this "Cas" was.

A few minutes later, I felt a gust of wind through the room followed by flapping noises.

"Dean, that's not an angel," said a new, gruffer voice.

"Then what the hell is it!?" yelled Dean, cocking a gun of his own. I tried to lay still as I knew two guns were now trained on me.

"I don't know," said who I assumed to be Cas. "She is awake though."

Damn he was good. Or maybe I was just bad at pretending to be unconscious. 

I opened my eyes slowly.

"Don't make any sudden moves," said Dean, whom I could now see was a gruff looking man whose wardrobe was mostly plaid. He had his gun trained on me.

I was so tempted to whip out Charles' handgun and train it on them, but I was pretty sure I had run out of bullets and I was most definitely outnumbered.

"Who are you?" asked Sam. His hair was long, his legs were longer. He too wore excessive amounts of plaid. "What are you?"

"Eve. I'm a mutant, not an angel," I said with any confidence I could muster. I tried to extend my arm for a hand shake but found my arm bent at an odd angle and felt very broken.

"Ouch," commented Sam, seeing the unnatural shape to my arm.

The third man, Cas, stepped forward. "May I?" he asked.

I wasn't sure what he was asking. Cas began to extend his hand towards my forehead when Dean stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Cas, you can't just heal her," said Dean. "We don't know her intentions."

I had an idea. "Turn on the news," I said, eyeing the small motel TV.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Turn on the news," I repeated.

Sam did so. As I predicted, footage of me and The Avengers was playing on nearly all channels.

"Son of a—" Dean started in disbelief. It seemed Sam and Dean knew nothing of what had happened in New York just moments ago.

Common news captions read things along the lines of,   
_The New Avenger?_  
 _Mysterious Savior_  
And my favorite: _Angel to the Rescue._

There was an interview being conducted with the little girl, Laura Tyler.

Sam finally spoke. "How the hell did you end up here? And in that state?"

I looked down at myself. There were multiple cuts and bruises inflicted by those alien creatures. My sweatshirt was in ribbons, stained with blood. My school's logo for Midtown High was no longer legible. I could feel several of my bones were somewhere the shouldn't have been.

And to top it all off, my arm was definitely broken

_How the hell was I going to get back to Charles now?_

"I crash landed in the parking lot. Guess I was just exhausted from flying here," I said.

"You flew here?" Cas asked. "This motel is nearly twenty miles from the city of New York."

 _Was it really?_ I thought.  
I had never flown so far in my life.


	5. The Winchesters Con.

Thinking about how far I'd flown made my head a little fuzzy. My eyes grew heavy as darkness threatened to engulf me.

"Hey, hey!" Dean said, snapping his fingers in my face.

"Dean," started Cas gruffly. "Eve has a large amount of blood loss. If you would just let me heal her . . ."

Dean folded his arms in thought. Finally, he said, "Alright."

I let out a sigh of relief. I could feel that if my wounds were left untreated for another hour, I'd surely bleed out.

I didn't really understand how Cas would heal me, but I was open to anything at this point.

Cas reached out his hands, raising the first two fingers. This was similar to what Charles did when focusing his power which lead me to believe Cas was some sort of mutant too.

He pressed his fingers to my temples. I closed my eyes at his touch. Immediately, I felt a warm sensation creep over my body. My bones began to snap in place and my wounds began to close.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up slowly. Luckily I wasn't too unstable; I knew I had to be ready to move fast.

"How can I ever repay you?" I asked the men before me. "You saved my hide for sure."

"Don't worry about it, kid," said Dean.

"You've had a tough day," Sam said, referring to the Battle of Manhattan on the news.

I looked over to where Cas was to thank him as well, but he had disappeared in the same gust of wind that brought him here.

"Cas comes and goes," commented Dean, grabbing a beer from the mini fridge and plopping himself down on the bed.

I stretched my wings and looked down at my sweatshirt which was close to sliding off my shoulders. I needed a new one before I went anywhere public.

"Uh, would you like one of my shirts?" Sam offered noticing mine was in shambles.

I nodded.

Sam grabbed his suitcase from the bedside and flung it up onto the bed. He grabbed an AC/DC shirt from the top.

"Here," Sam said, tossing the shirt to me. It was much too big for me but I was grateful for the clean clothes.

"Thanks," I said. "AC/DC, huh?"

"You listen to them?" asked Dean.

"They're one of my favorites," I said. I changed in the bathroom, taking a hair tie from my wrist and wrapping it around the excess shirt.

I looked in the mirror at my dirtied face. There were blood stains all over me, but no wounds to show for them thanks to Cas. All that was left on my skin were clean white scars. Those aliens had really done a number on me and New York.

My wings took up most of the motel bathroom. I bent one closer to myself so I could examine it in the small mirror. It was caked with blood and dirt.

"Hey, Sam? Dean?" I called from within the bathroom.

They gave my a simultaneous "Yeah?"

"Mind if I take a quick shower to get the blood out of my wings?" I asked, poking my head out of the door.

Dean sat with his feet on the table, beer in hand. Sam at across from him, vigorously reading off this laptop.

"Knock yourself out, kid," said Dean.

***

As I sat freshly showered and resting on the cheap motel bed, two knocks came from the door. They were harsh and deliberate.

Dean stood up from his chair, pulled his gun from his leather jacket, and stalked over to the entrance.

He peered through the peephole, then motioned for me.

"Do you know this guy?" Dean asked quietly.

I looked through the hole. The man standing outside was one I recognized.

It was that Hawkeye guy from the battle in New York. He must've actually reported me to that Fury guy over his intercom.

I had two options: open the door and face Hawkeye like a real woman or, hide in the closet until Dean shoed him off.

I decided to be a woman.

I grabbed the door handle and swung the door in.

Hawkeye looked surprised I'd come to the door willingly. I was surprised I had come willingly myself.

"Do you know him, Eve?" asked Dean.

"Sort of," I said. "His code name is Hawkeye. He was in New York fighting too."

Behind Hawkeye stood a tall, bald man. He had an eye patch, black trench coat. He was by all means intimidating.

"Who's your friend?" I asked Hawkeye hesitantly. I attempted to cross my arms to look tough but this action only consisted of tucking my hand beneath my arm stub.

The man with the eyepatch strode forward. I resisted the urge to throw Dean in between us.

"Evelyn Riolette," the man stated.

"It's Evelyn Xavier now," I said seriously. I hadn't heard my old name is years. It scared me to hear another person say it.

"Barton," started the man, "change that in our records."

Hawkeye, Barton rather, pulled out some tablet and began typing.

Dean had disappeared behind the door, but I felt him listening to make sure I was alright.

"How did you find me?" I asked. "What do you want?"

"A giant human bird fell out of the sky and landed in a motel parking lot . . . The owner was concerned," Barton said simply.

"Security cameras picked up two men carrying you inside their room," continued the other man. "I assume they helped you?"

"Yea, and?"

"Would you say you're in well enough condition to travel?" asked Barton.

"I suppose," I answered.

"Evelyn—" started the eye-patched man.

"Please, call me Eve," I said.

"Okay, _Eve_ ," he corrected himself. "My name is Director Fury. I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."


	6. The Avengers Initiative

I was shocked to say the least. I had heard of the Avengers Initiative, but never, _never,_ thought _I'd_ be offered a chance to save people on such a wide scale. Charles was always preaching about all the good mutants could do if we were just accepted more.

"Mr. Fury," I began, but I didn't know what to say. "Could I, erm, convene with my friends before I make a decision?"

"Yes, but only for a few minutes," responded the director.

"We have to get back to the Avengers tower to tie up some loose ends from after the battle. You're welcome to come with and we'll be able to get you a private jet back to your home to avoid the damage in the city."

As soon as I shut the door, Dean simply said, "Dude." He grabbed me by the shoulders like a parent would do. "You have to take this opportunity." His face flashed with excitement. "C'mon, Eve. This is really a chance of a lifetime."

Sam had gotten up from his desk and was behind the door with Dean. He had also been listening to Fury's offer. Sam looked down at me, shocked into wordlessness as well.

"I was planning on accepting anyway," I laughed.

"So why are we still talking in here?" Sam said excitedly. "Go, go!" He pushed me towards the door.

Fury stood waiting in the same position, his arms behind his back, his glare from his single eye as strong as ever. Barton shifted on his feet, holding the same stance as the director, impatient.

"Well?" questioned Director Fury.

I held out my hand. "I accept your offer." 

Fury took my hand and shook it, then Barton did the same.

"You'll begin in one month," he stated. "You will be able to continue your schooling here. I'm sure your teachers would gladly send a lesson plan for you to follow while you're working with us."

"Your cover name, when other people ask, and _they will_ ask, is the Stark Internship Program," Barton elaborated. 

This man seemed to read my mind. Of course I'd be more worried about my education than saying the world. But what about Charles . . .

"You'll be able to visit your family and friends regularly," said Fury. "Think of it as an after school program."

 _Man, he was good_.

A sleek black car pulled into the lot and stopped outside of the motel.

"Ready to go?" asked Barton.

I took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be," I said. "Let me grab my things and I'll be out."

I went back into the room and grabbed my bag. Sam and Dean watched me go around and grab my things quickly. Finished packing, I stopped in front of them. They had done so much for me in the few hours I was with them.

"Ready to be a superhero?" asked Sam with a grin.

I smiled, excited. "I'll remember you when I'm famous," I laughed.

"You better, kid," said Dean.

I shifted my bag on my shoulders in anticipation for the journey ahead. I've always hated backpacks because they interfere with my wings and they are nearly impossible to keep on.

"Thank you, guys," I said. "For everything."

"Don't mention it," said Sam.

"Yeah, and don't forget that Sam and Dean Winchester saved your life," laughed Dean.

"And Cas," added Sam.

"And Cas," Dean echoed. He held out his calloused hand. "Don't die."

I shook it. "I'll try my best," I said.

"We'll be watching the news more often!" called Sam as I walked towards the door.

I took a deep breath, readying myself, and stepped out into the daylight. Director Fury, still keeping his stern face, and Hawkeye, lead me towards the shiny car.

Hawkeye went for the passenger side of the car but Fury stopped him. "Sit in the back with her," he instructed.

Barton sighed, not wanting to sit in the back. But Fury was definitely his boss so he reluctantly walked around the car and slid into the seat next to me. He took out his tablet and began playing solitaire and avoiding eye contact, though I didn't mind the silence, really.

The car started forward and the ride was smooth. We drove through the heart of New York. Most of it was destroyed and deserted which gave the whole city an eerie feeling. The city was normally packed full of cars. The only ones that remained were crushed and twisted in unnatural ways.

Finally, our car drove down into the parking garage of the Stark Tower.


	7. Chapter 7

My heart was pounding as Fury parked the car. He got out and opened my door for me.

"Now, no funny business," the Director warned.

I nodded and began following him. Agent Barton got out of the car and put away his solitaire, trailing close behind me and keeping a watchful eye.

We stepped into an elevator where Fury scanned his ID card and we began rising.

My black wings were left stuck in an awkward position against the back wall of the small space.

From the time spent going up, I could tell we were on one of the upper floors overlooking the disaster that occurred in New York earlier today.

But when we stepped out, the room was not one I expected. I was imagining stepping into a sleek, white-walled office, not some kind of living room.

The _entire team_ of Avengers were lounging on a couch with cuts and bruises from the battle or in the attached kitchen making what looked like smoothies.

They all simultaneously looked up as the elevator dinged.

"Smoothie?" asked _the_ Tony Stark. He proceeded to hold out a purple colored drink with a little umbrella in it. His face was pretty dinged up, more than the other Avengers.

I stared at the scene, unsure of what to do.

"That won't be necessary Mr. Stark," said Fury.

I followed him further into the living room, tucking my wings behind me nervously. I didn't like when a lot of people stared at me, but who could blame them?

"Gentlemen and Natasha," began the Director. The red-headed woman on the couch rolled her eyes. "This is Eve Xavier . . . The girl who help you all win the battle today. Our footage from recovered traffic cameras show she killed a total of one hundred three alien beings as well as saved multiple citizens."

I was a bit shocked at my kill count because well, I don't normally count in the moment.

The Avengers stared more intently at me.

"With what weapon did you kill them with?" asked a long haired man in the kitchen. He seemed very content with his smoothie and hugged it with both hands. His billowing red cape made him look a little ridiculous but Captain America's spandex had the same affect on him. He had been the figure surrounded by lightening on top of the Chrysler.

"A handgun and piece of rebar," I answered.

The Avengers looked to each other, sharing an impressed thought with their eyes.

 _The_ Tony Stark stood from the couch to shake my hand. "Welcome to the team, Eve."

"Wait, Stark," said Fury, halting the excited man. "Eve technically doesn't start working for another month."

Tony sighed dramatically.

 _"And_ I also promised we'd get her a flight back to her home ASAP," continued Fury.

"But, Director," I started. "I haven't even had contact with Charles and Hank since the battle. I don't even know if they're alive—"

Barton began furiously typing on his tablet. The device pinged and he looked up. "They're fine," Barton said.

"How do you know?" I asked peering over at his tablet.

"They checked into the airport as the designated safety zone about twenty minutes ago."

My whole body heaved a sigh of relief. It felt as if I was no longer running on worry and adrenaline. I swayed as if I was going to collapse after the stress was finally pulled off my shoulders.

"You okay, kid?" asked Captain America.

I stumbled forwards and into Thor who put me upright again.

"Whoa there, young Demigod!" Thor boomed with a smile.

"Thor, she needs the infirmary," said Natasha.

"No, no," I said. "I'm fine, really." I righted myself against the back of the couch. "I just want to go home."

"Bruce, get the Quinjet and set a course for the airport," commanded Fury. "We're going to get you and your guardians back to home on our jet."

***

The airport was packed and there was traffic at all entrances trying to get in.

Luckily, the car transporting me had emergency lights and sirens causing everyone to move out of our way.

I wondered how we were going to find Charles and Hank in this mess.

Fury said something over his radio-intercom though I wasn't really listening. I was starting out the window and into the onlooking crowd in the airport.

"Eve, Eve!" Barton's voice woke me from my thoughts.

I snapped my head to him. I think I may have passed out.

"You're going to have to go in and point them out to us," explained Barton. "I will escort you inside and back out to the jet for safety purposes seeing the crowd could be dangerous with you being plastered on almost every television in there."

I gulped and nodded. "Got it." I never liked the idea of being famous.

We walked down the ramp of the jet and out onto the pavement where planes were parked against the building before being boarded.

People waiting at the flight gate stared out the window at the strange new arrivals walking towards the door.

I tucked my wings behind me, not wanting attention, but it was no use. As soon as we walked inside, Barton and I were swarmed with interested citizens.

They pulled out their mobile phones and took pictures and videos.

Barton put on sunglasses inside. Yeah, that really helped make us NOT look like we were famous.

He grabbed onto my elbow, steering me towards the gate where Hank and Charles had registered.

I kept my head down as best I could while still keeping an eye out for Charles.

The crowd drew closer into us.

"Everybody back up, now," commanded Barton in a deadly tone.

I tried my best to look scary but I wasn't very good at that.

"Evelyn!" called a voice. I turned, my eyes furiously searching the crowd.

 _"Eve, it's Charles."_ He spoke in my mind. _"I can see you . . . I'm over here, by the cafe."_

I looked up to see Charles piercing blue eyes staring directly at me.   
_"I see you,"_ I thought over and over. _"I see you."_

I began pushing through the crowd, raising my wings around me to get people to back up.

I ran into Charles' outstretched arms. He was sitting in a rental wheelchair from the airport. Hank was returning with coffee and nearly dropped the cups at the sigh of me.

The people videoing with their phones smiled at the sight of our reunion.

I breathed in Charles' familiar scent. An involuntary tear ran down my face. He pulled away from the hug, smiling.

"I told you I'd be careful," I laughed.


	8. Home Again

I gazed into Charles' now less worried eyes.

"Evelyn, what are you doing here?" Charles asked, his hand cupping my face.

"We came to get you and Hank," I said.

"We?" repeated Charles. "Who's 'we'?"

"Agent Barton," I began. Hawkeye walked over calmly and stiffly, his face blank beneath his shades.

"They've offered me a position," I explained. "I'm going to be an Avenger," I whispered for the crowd still looked on and I really didn't need more media attention.

"An Avenger?" asked Charles in disbelief.

I shushed him, telling him to keep his voice down.

"Evelyn, that's wonderful," Charles said pulling me in for another hug. "You'll be saving people like you did today?" he asked.

"Yes, just like today but all over the world," I said with a smile. "I've always wanted to travel."

"Why've you come here, then?" Hank asked. He had kneeled down to join in on our conversation.

"Barton and I are taking you back home on the Avengers' private jet," I whispered excitedly.

"That sounds better than this," decided Hank, grabbing his bag. "Ready, Charles?

"Yes, please get us out of here," he agreed. "It's too damn hot with all these people."

Barton nodded and led the way.

The people parted once more and let us through with ease.

Barton pushed open the airport doors as people continued to film us on their phones. We walked up the ramp of the Quinjet and it shut behind us.

I took my seat next to the window. Fury leaned out of the cockpit and watched Charles and Hank find their seats.

The director then stood, walking back towards us.

"Charles Xavier?" Fury asked, stopping at Charles' seat. Hank shifted nervously behind me.

"Yes, sir?" responded Charles. He was always so polite.

"I'm Director Fury," he said, extending his hand. They shook. "I suppose Eve told you she's been offered a position at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"An Avenger," stated Charles. There was a proud tone to his voice.

"Yes, well, after seeing her skill today in New York, I would be a fool not to at least offer her a position on our team." The director turned to Hank.

"You must be Hank," began Fury.

"Yes, Hank McCoy," he said. The director shook his hand.

"Forgive me," started Fury. "I just want to get a few things straight. It is my understanding that you are mutants?"

"Yes," I said. 

"Right . . . So, you can fly," stated Fury.

I nodded.

"You," the director turned to Hank. "are blue . . . _sometimes,_ according to our records."

"Yes, but I also am a scientist," countered Hank. "And a mechanic of some things. Mostly aviation."

"Write that down, Barton," mumbled Fury. He picked his chin in thought and turned to Charles. "You?"

"In addition to being a professor at school for mutant students, I am a telepath," said Charles. He wasn't usually comfortable talking to strangers about his abilities so his willingness surprised me.

"That too," mumbled Fury to Barton once more.

"So a telepath? Can you hear my thoughts?" asked Fury, skeptical.

The director jumped back suddenly. Charles had probably said "yes" within his head.

"Okay, well, with all that settled," said Fury, visibly shaken from Charles. "Fasten your seat belts. Next stop: the School for Gifted Youngsters."

The jet took off from the airport in a similar fashion that a helicopter would.

I watched out the window as people stared. A news van was arriving at the airport. They were probably here because the "angel of New York" had been spotted here.

Charles smiled at me, taking my hand. He turned over my palm in his, looking at all the neat white scars from the battle that had been healed thanks to Cas. 

I clicked on the jet's mini TV. Sure enough, my reunion with Charles filmed from a mobile phone was on almost every news channel.

"That doesn't matter," he said, referring to all the publicity. "What matters is that you're safe."

 _Yeah well_ , I thought. _"Safe" isn't really in the job description of an Avenger._

We arrived back at the school faster than any car ride home.

 _I have to travel by private jet more often_ , I thought.

Charles must have "heard" and laughed. Hank looked up from his reading for a moment and smirked. He had no idea what we were saying.

I grabbed my backpack and helped Charles from his seat and into his chair.

"You're getting rather strong, Eve," Charles laughed. I was now able to lift him into his chair with ease.

"Yeah well, gym class, I guess," I laughed shortly. "I dominate at capture the flag."

"I'm sure you do," commented Fury, climbing out of the cockpit. He oddly wasn't being sarcastic. For once in his life, perhaps Fury was actually fearful. I mean, Charles, Hank, and I are "dangers to society" according to the news outlets reporting on mutants.

Fury was obviously respectful of mutants because he had offered me a job, but that doesn't mean that respect comes with a cautious fear.

A few teachers had wandered outside from the sound of the jet landing as Charles, Hank, and I stepped out and down the ramp.

The staff greeted us kindly. I knew they had heard about what had gone on in the city and a wave of relief seemed to wash over them as our faces appeared from out of the Quinjet.

Students would be arriving tomorrow. The day after that, classes officially started.

I breathed in the familiar smell of the school grounds. It never ceased to relax me.

Hoisting my bag onto my shoulder I walked inside the castle like building. It smelled freshly cleaned yet old at the same time.

The stairs creaked as I raced upstairs to my room. It was the same as how I'd left it this morning, bed unmade and all.

I tossed my bag off to the side and threw myself down on the bed.

I didn't know whether I wanted to cry or laugh or scream or do all three. I flung open my laptop and frantically began looking at my social media.

As expected, I had over a thousand notifications from my new fans accumulated today's events. Most were thank you's or interview offers. I deleted most of them.

Until one message caught my eye. "From Addison Tyler," I read aloud. Mrs. Tyler; the little girl's mother! I was so thankful Laura was safe.

I immediately wrote back saying that I was just there to help and I'm glad their story had a happy ending.

Charles appeared in my doorway and knocked. He was now in his spare wheelchair as the other one was crushed in the trunk of the car in New York.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

I sighed. "I guess so," I said. "It's just today's been crazy."

Charles chuckled. "It sure has." He paused, thinking. "How about to get your mind off of it all we can go grab a bite, then maybe get some binders and such for the coming days?"

I nodded shutting my laptop.

But deep down I knew I was no longer able to go out in public without being recognized, recorded, or fawned over.


	9. Warren

After a night of well deserved rest, I woke up in the strangely quiet school. My school had been cancelled, of course. I had no idea how my classmates were reacting to me being all over the news.

The mutant students were beginning to arrive at Charles' school today and throughout the night because of the different time zones.

I was determined to stay awake to greet and help but I was still exhausted.

The hallways began to fill with exhausted students. I helped them to their rooms, carried bags, as well as received awestricken looks from those who recognized me from the news.

Even among mutants I felt like and outsider.

Then, I saw him. It was another mutant so similar to me, yet my opposite, that I was scared.

The teen was blond and his feathered wings were white, the opposite of mine.

He arrived in the dead of night as if he had snuck out.

Charles said his name was Warren. He was from New York and exiled by his adopted father who was a respected representative of an anti-mutant movement.

There was a pull in the back of my mind that made me feel as if we were related. He looked so similar to me I was sure we had to be related somehow.

I had to investigate, though Charles advised me not to press.

But from across the room, Warren seemed intrigued by the sight of me.

I walked over to him and helped him with his bags casually.

The lobby had grown oddly quiet even with the amount of students packed in here. Probably because they were all too tired to talk with excitement.

Once Warren and his roommate were settled in upstairs, I decided to introduce myself.

"Eve," I said, extending a hand.

"Warren," he answered, shaking it.

"Out of curiosity," I began, "when's your birthday?"

"May 23, 2001," Warren answered casually. Well, at least he wasn't making it weird as it was.

"That's actually my birthday," I said, a pit of nervousness and excitement building in my stomach.

"Ha, weird," commented Warren's roommate, looking up from his phone. "Maybe you're like, twinsies." He went back to texting.

I've always hated the word "twinsies" but nevertheless I looked up at blonde angel knowingly. He looked a bit pale.

"Can we, uh, take this chat outside?" asked Warren.

***

Warren followed me down the stairs and onto the grounds. The distant sky was beginning to a light violet as the stars disappeared. More of our individual family stories were revealed as the sun rose up from behind the trees to start the new day. 

"So, do you really think we could be twins?" asked Warren.

He had this strange glint in his eyes like he already knew the answer and just needed confirmation.

I crossed my arms shifted my weight nervously. "Yes."

I was suddenly engulfed by Warren's arms. He hugged me tightly, wings and all. I returned the favor.

We probably looked like a yin yang symbol the way our opposite colored wings intertwined.

I pulled away, smiling. "Want to go to the roof?" I asked. "We're some of the few that can get up there."

Warren pondered the idea then nodded.

We took flight.

We got a bird's eye view of some of the mutants arriving. Some noticed us and pointed. Some grabbed at others arms to look up as well.

Warren's white wings were the most noticeable thing against the dark sky. His wingspan was slightly wider than mine as he was a few inches taller than me.

We landed on the roof gently.

"I've always wanted real family," said Warren, taking a seat in the edge of the building. I followed suit. "Not just my adoptive parents . . . but they didn't really like me that much either after my wings grew in."

"Grew in?" I asked. Warren nodded. "I thought I've always had mine," I said, twirling a piece of my hair. "Maybe I wasn't born with them either like I thought . . . I really can't remember."

"When I was five or so, and my wings had just grown in," my brother began. 

God, it was weird to say brother. 

His face fell and his eyes adopted a glossy look. 

I realized this was not going to be a pleasant story.

"I tried to cut them off . . . with my adoptive dad's pocket knife, but uh, they just kept growing back."

Wanting to change the subject, I decided to tell Warren everything that happened today, most of which he recalled from the news. I told him about my new position with the Avengers. Warren seemed impressed and excited, yet sad that I would be leaving the school and him behind.

It seemed strange how fast my brother and I rekindled after spending our whole lives apart.

I had to tell Charles, though I wasn't sure he'd believe me.

I grabbed Warren's hand as we watched the sunrise.

"You have to meet Charles," I said to Warren. "He's the head professor here but he's also like an older brother or father to me," I explained. "He's my guardian."

"Lead the way," said Warren.

I jumped off the roof, letting myself fall, my wings catching on the air just before I reached the ground. I had practiced this stunt many times and it scared the living daylights out of Charles. That's why it was my favorite trick.

Once Warren and I were safely on the ground, we walked into Charles' office where he sat reading over various student files.

He looked up. "Evelyn, do you need something?" Charles was in his busy-mindset and hated being bothered.

"No, but this is really important," I explained quickly. "I have a twin brother."

"What?" asked Charles. I wasn't sure if he was in disbelief or he just hadn't understood me.

"This," I began, grabbing Warren's arm and pulling him further into the room. He curled his wings inwards awkwardly like how I do when I'm nervous. "is my twin brother, Warren. Same birthday, same adoption story—"

"Are you certain?" asked Charles, stopping me. "I mean this is a big deal if it is tr—"

"I'm certain it's true," I stated confidently.

Charles let out a long sigh and looked between Warren and I, searching for similarities. I knew Charles was also searching Warren's mind. Finally he said, "I trust you, Eve."

Charles extended a hand across his desk. "Warren, it is my honor to welcome you to the school and also to the family," he said.

Warren grinned and shook Charles' hand kindly.

Charles wheeled his chair out from behind his desk and motioned for a hug from us.

We accepted and created a feathery group hug.

Our family was small and far from traditional and though this may sound cliché, the love was there and that's all that mattered.


	10. Training

One month into school, the Avengers called me back as promised.

It was a cool autumn day in New York. The Quinjet landed in the courtyard, kicking up orange leaves. Students gathered around curiously.

Once again, Agent Barton and Fury emerged from the jet and walked down the ramp to greet me.

I grabbed my luggage and walked forward. My brother Warren, Hank and Charles watched me hand off my things to be loaded on board.

I hugged Charles and kissed his cheek, then did the same with Warren. I ruffled the blonde's hair which he immediately tried to put back in place.

I hugged my friends who said their various goodbyes and good lucks. 

"We'll be keeping an eye on the news," said Hank.

"I'll call you guys when I can," I said and smiled.

"Don't die," Warren said sarcastically but I could still tell he meant it. He gripped me by my shoulders and gave a little shake.

I shrugged out of his grasp. "Yeah, I know," I said with a smirk.

Charles spoke up: "Be careful, and don't do anything stupid."

"Guys, I got it," I said. I knew they were just looking out for me. "I'll be fine; I always am."

And with that, I boarded the jet to be taken to my new life in the Avengers Tower.

***

As I stepped out of the jet and onto the roof of the tower, I was greeted by who I could only assume were other agents. They were dressed cleanly in black suits wearing earpieces. I supposed they were some kind of safety system as we were on the roof of a pretty tall building.

I was tempted to run and jump off the roof knowing my wings would catch me but this was probably not a good idea for first impressions.

We took the elevator down to the living room area where I had first met the Avengers. 

_The_ Tony Stark greeted me: "Eve, right?"

I nodded.

"Welcome to the tower, Eve. I want to help you out," Tony began. "Now that you're an Avenger, you have to know we tackle some crazy things." 

"I'm just gonna say it," Tony decided. "I want to make you a suit."

I didn't know what to say. I felt my mouth hang slightly agape.

Tony continued: "It'd be completely functional, made of woven metal, but lightweight—"

I cut him off by hugging him. "Thank you," I said into his shoulder.

Tony seemed taken aback at first but tentatively patted my back. He smirked and said, "You're a strong hugger."

"You should see what I can do to a punching bag," I smiled.

"I'll tell Rogers to take you up on that offer," Tony said. "Well, let's go find you a punching bag," and motioned for me to come along.

***

Tony and I took the elevator down to the athletic floor. There were many pieces of gym equipment like treadmills, punching bags, a wrestling ring, a whole room with a padded floor which I assumed was for hand to hand combat training.

Some of the other Avengers were on the floor as well.

"Tony!" called a man who was on a treadmill.

"Hey, Rhodey!" Tony called back.

"Is that the new chick?"

"Sure is," said Tony. "I'm breaking her in today."

Tony and I walked past a window to a room with punching bags hanging down in it. A blonde man was wildly swinging at one. He was very buff and sweaty.

"Capsicle!" yelled Tony through the glass. The blonde kept punching. Tony opened the door and yelled inside. "I'm going to do some tinkering. _You_ get to watch Eve." And with that he walked away briskly so the man couldn't object.

I was left standing in the doorway to the punching bag room. An awkward silence filled the room as the man had stopped punching and realized what Tony had said.

"Eve, was it?" he asked. I nodded. "Steve Rogers." Steve grabbed a nearby towel and wiped the sweat off his hands and face.

He extended a hand politely which I shook.

"Tony said that you and I would get along," I explained. "I like punching bags. It's good just to—"

"Let it all out," we said in unison.

I smiled. "I like sparring more, though," I said. "It's better for real life. Though nobody really wants to spar with me because well—"

"I'll do it," Steve offered. "I mean, I don't want to hurt you or anything."

"Ha, you flatter me," I joked, holding up my fist in a fighting stance.

Steve mirrored me.

In a second, I swept Steve's legs out from under him and he landed on his fit butt.

Laughter boomed from the other side of the window. I looked to see Thor holding his gut and pointing at Steve from the hallway.

"Har har," said Steve sarcastically. He stood up and brushed himself off.

Steve suddenly went to sweep my leg but I stepped out of the way and punched him right under his exposed arm. He staggered backwards which caused Thor to laugh even more.

"You may be strong," I commented, "which is good and all, but you have to be faster."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. He patted my back.

"You shush," Steve chided, pointing at Thor.


	11. Peter

"Mr. Stark, who's that?" said an unfamiliar voice. 

"Eve, this is Peter, Peter this is Eve," said Tony, pushing the kid into the training room with me.

"Hey," I said, shaking his hand.

"Hey, you're the girl that goes to my school," Peter realized. "The-the Angel of New York, people are calling you!" 

"Yeah, I guess," I said sheepishly. 

"You two are both a part of the 'Stark Internship,'" Tony said, putting up air quotes. "You'll both be receiving suits as a part of this program as well."

Peter looked like he was biting his tongue in excitement. 

"But for me to make your suits, I gotta learn your fighting styles to better program for your fighting styles," Tony explained. "So you two have to spar."

Peter looked at me with nervous brown eyes. 

"Hand to hand or . . . with powers?" he asked Tony.

"With powers," Stark said simply. 

So Peter was a mutant too . . .

"Do not draw blood, if you can help it," Tony added as he closed the door to the training room. "There are motion-capture camera's tracking your movement too." He moved to the window to watch the fight.

I looked up to see how high the ceilings within the training room were. The space was about twenty feet tall, wide, and deep. I could probably get the high ground if I flew.

"Ding, ding, ding," said Stark over the room's intercom.

Peter stood awkwardly waiting for me to make the first move.

I flapped my wings and flew upward quickly, smacking Peter with my feathers on the way up. Peter fell back on his rear on impact. I hovered over him, creating a whirlwind within the room.

Peter shot something from his hand. It suck onto my wings and tangled within my feathers.

I snapped up my retractible talons on the bend of my wings, cutting the string. 

Peter stood and jumped onto the wall, holding on with nothing but the stick of his fingers.

"You're that Spiderman, aren't you?" I said, going to kick him off the wall. 

Peter jumped to the other side of the room. "Yeah, that's me!" He shot out another web, this time it stuck on my arm. I again cut myself free with my talons.

I landed a punch, causing Peter to lose his grip on the wall and fall.

"Oh, sorry!" I said, moving to check on him.

Peter stood and righted himself, raising his fists. He punched forward. I blocked his fist.

I punched forward. Peter went to block my fist in an upward motion but instead it caused my punch to land on his eye rather than his chest.

I put my hands over my mouth in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yea, yea," Peter said, putting a hand over his eye. "That one was my bad."

"Alright, alright," Stark said over the intercom. "Sheesh, that was mediocre." 

"Let me see," I said, tilting Peter's chin to let me see his eye. 

It was turning purple. 

I grimaced. "That's gonna leave a mark." 

Tony opened the door. "That's enough for today. Peter, let's go get you some ice." Stark left in the direction of the med-room.

"Look, I'm real sorry," I said. 

"No, no, that one's on me," Peter assured me. "You had the high ground." He laughed to himself then looked back to me. "Sorry—"

"That's from Star Wars, yeah?" I asked.

Peter smiled. "Yeah, yeah it is."

"Well, I think we have the rest of the day off after that," I began. "We could watch a movie?"

"I'm down," Peter said casually, though I could tell he was rather excited. 

"Okay, Spiderman," I smiled, jokingly punching him on the shoulder.

"Okay," Peter answered, a grin spreading across his face. 

Butterflies crept into my chest. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.


	12. The Bus

Peter and I spent the afternoon watching _Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back_ on the couch of the living room where I had first met the Avengers a month ago after the Battle of New York. 

By three, the two of us realized we had yet to complete our weekend homework. 

Tomorrow was Monday and I realized I would have to take the bus into school since Charles wouldn't be driving me.

My temporary room in the Avengers Tower was rather nice. I had set up a couple photos from home on my desk and brought along a few books. It was strange to live in the heart of the city, and so high up in a skyscraper too. But since Stark was selling the Tower, I'd really only be staying here for a couple of nights at most.

By the end of my first day, I was already missing the smell of the fresh-cut grass surrounding Charles' school.

Still, Peter and I finished our homework, which seemed rather arbitrary when we were training to be actual Avengers. 

"Hey, Peter," I began throwing my finished work back into my book bag. 

"Yeah, Eve?" 

"Do you have a room in the Tower?" I asked.

"No . . . Do you?" Peter said, looking up from his math homework.

"Oh, yeah I do," I said sheepishly. "Guess it's because I live kinda far away."

Peter shrugged, then paused. After a moment he said, "Hey do you think you could give me your phone number?" he asked rather quickly, not daring to make eye contact. "I mean you don't have to, it could just be for emergencies—"

"Yeah, okay," I said.

"Really? I mean, yeah, cool," Peter said, trying to be casual. 

We exchanged phone numbers. 

"Man, wait 'til Ned hears about today," Peter laughed to himself. 

"Does he know you're Spiderman?" I asked.

"Uh yeah, so you, Ned, and Mr. Stark are really the only ones, so like—try and keep it to yourself."

"Noted," I said. "I wish I could do that."

"Do what?" Peter asked.

"You know, be able to hide it," I explained. "Everyone knows I'm the 'Angel of New York,' or whatever," I said, crossing my arms. "The wings get in the way all the time too. That's why I'm not looking forward to taking the bus."

"Well, I could save you a seat?" Peter offered. "I think my stop's before yours. By the way, where is your bus stop? I mean, it's not like the bus is gonna stop at the actual Avengers Tower, will it?"

I shrugged. "I sure hope not, even if it means I have to walk a few blocks."

Unfortunately, the bus did stop very close to the Avengers Tower.

As I stepped up into the school bus, I knew every eye was on me. I put in my earbuds and kept my eyes down. I tucked my wings behind myself tightly and made my way to the back.

"Eve!" I heard someone call through my earbuds and music.

Peter flagged me down at the very back of the bus.

Someone scoffed.

I had to resist the urge to punch them square in the jaw. I gave them my signature death glare instead.

Peter was sitting with another kid. I assumed that was Ned who I had heard Peter mention the day prior.

Ned's mouth was open in a surprised letter O.

 _"That's Eve?"_ I saw him whisper to Peter. 

I took a seat across from them. Luckily it was empty.

"I saved you that seat 'cause I know you need some room," Peter said.

"Thanks," I said, taking out an earbud.

"Hi, I'm Ned," Ned said nervously, extending a hand.

"Eve."

As I shook his hand, Ned looked like he could faint from excitement. _"Why do so many superheroes go to Midtown High?"_ Ned said excitedly under his breath.

I shrugged. "New York always needs saving. How's your eye, Peter?"

It still looked rather purple. 

"I'm fine, it'll be fine in a couple days," Peter answered.

"Sorry about that, again," I mumbled. 

Ned spoke up, "She did that?"

Peter shushed him. "We were sparring," he whispered.

"Awesome," Ned breathed.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Follows _Spiderman: Homecoming_

As the bus unloaded, I followed Peter and Ned off and towards the school doors.

"'Sup, Penis Parker!" called a kid in a convertible as he nearly hit Peter.

I looked to Peter who only clenched his jaw in annoyance.

"You want me to take him out?" I said. "I can take him out."

Ned looked at Peter, waiting for him to take my offer.

"It's fine," Peter mumbled.

 _Buy your homecoming tickets on sale now,_ said a student on the school TV as we walked through the hall. 

"You going to that?" asked Peter, shifting his book bag.

By "that" he had meant homecoming.

"Not sure . . ." I started. "I've really never been to a school dance. Don't know how it would go with— _ouch_ —" Someone had stepped on a feather. "My wings," I finished.

"Right, right," Peter said, stopping at his locker.

"Morning, birdie!" someone called teasingly.

"You want me to take him out?" Peter said, repeating me. "I can take him out." 

"Har, har," I laughed sarcastically. "It's fine. I'll do it myself later. Besides, we gotta get to Decathlon practice."

"About that . . ." Peter started as we walked into the class.

"Peter, it's nationals," I protested. "The world isn't gonna end anytime soon. We made sure of that."

"I know—"

"Peter, you're not coming to nationals?" Mr. Harrington butt in.

"I can't go to Washington because if Mr. Stark needs me, I need to be here," Peter explained.

"You've never even been in the same room as Tony Stark," Flash spoke up.

I rolled my eyes at him. If only he knew, he'd wipe that smug look off his face.

The class began to protest Peter's choice to not come.

"Flash, that means you're in for Peter," Mr. Harrington decided.

"Oof, I gotta check my schedule," Flash began. "I might have a hot date with Black Widow coming up."

"Puh-lease, Flash," I spoke up. "Both Peter and I have worked with Mr. Stark closely. And I know you'll believe me because I was all over the news a month ago! I didn't see you out there fighting robots with a piece of rebar and a handgun. Do you wanna see the scars, Flash? Huh? Do you not believe me?"

"Alright, Eve, thank you," Mr. Harrington said. "We're all very glad you helped save the city. Right, class?"

There was a collective yes and nervous nodding.

"Okay then, let's move on with the lesson," Mr. Harrington said, clapping his hands together.

Flash sank down into his chair.

"Nice," MJ whispered to me.

Peter's aghast expression soon formed into a smile as his rival had been silenced for the time being.

The school day came and went. As soon as the bell rang, Peter and I were outside.

He jumped the tall school fence in a single leap. I flew over after him, laughing.

Peter smiled. "That was amazing, back there! I can't believe it! Flash didn't talk for the entire class. You gotta do that more often," he beamed.

"Yeah, well," I began sheepishly. "It was nothing."

I followed Peter to a local Deli.

"'Sup, Mr. Delmar," Peter greeted the owner.

"Hey, Mr. Parker," the man greeted him. "Who's this you brought with you?"

"Oh, that's just my friend from school," Peter said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder, then ordering a sandwich.

"You're that angel of New York, aren't you?" Mr. Delmar said to me.

I wanted to shrink into the corner and run away. I hated being recognized.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "That's me."

"Wow," then man breathed. "Hey, you want something? On the house."

I looked to Peter. "The capricola's good," he said with a shrug.

With our sandwiches in hand, I followed Peter around the block to an alley. He began taking off his shoes.

"What the hell are you doing?" I laughed as Peter threw off his book bag and pulled out a piece of blue and red fabric.

"Is that the suit?" I asked as Peter threw it on.

"Yep, the one Mr. Stark made me," he said, quickly getting dressed.

"We gonna go save the world right now or something?" I said, putting my sandwich in my school bag.

"More like the neighborhood," Peter said.

"Damn, I wish I had a mask," I thought aloud. "I hate being recognized but the world has already seen my face.

"Yeah, but you got that sandwich for free," Peter said, pulling the Spiderman mask over his face.

"I guess so," I mumbled.


	14. XIV - The Robbery

Peter threw his book bag and stuck it to the alley wall with a web.

"You want me do get yours?" he asked. 

"Why not," I decided, tossing him my school bag.

"Ready?" Peter said, touching a button that caused his red suit to form to his body.

"One step ahead of you!" I called, taking a large flap of my wings. 

The two of us flew and swung around Queens as gracefully as butterflies forming in my stomach whenever I looked at Peter.

He jumped from rooftop to rooftop and I followed in the air above him laughing all the way. Peter quickly stopped a bike robbery and left a note not to steal the bike after he couldn't find the real owner.

We stopped for a text break on top of a moving subway.

A man at a hotdog stand asked Peter to do a flip which he happily obliged.

We helped give a woman directions, she offered us a churro.

Peter attempted to stop a car-jacking which turned out to not even be a car-jacking at all.

New York was our playground.

As the two of us sat on top of an apartment building, splitting the churro, we watched the sunset.

"I feel like I could be doing more," Peter said with a sigh. "You know? When's the next mission?"

"I had fun today," I said. "I'm gonna be sore tomorrow, though," I laughed. "I hardly ever fly that much. 

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "It was nice to not be alone for once."

I could feel myself blushing as I took another bite of churro to hide it.

"Hey, hey look down there," Peter said, pointing to a bank.

Four men in black clothes and ski masks had entered. 

"Finally, something good," Peter said, standing up.

"Should I come along?" I asked.

"If you want to!" Peter said, hopping down several feet before catching himself on a web.

We entered the bank, Peter shut the door awkwardly behind us. 

"'Sup, guys," he announced. "You got your pin numbers?"

I bit my tongue to keep from smiling. The men robbing the bank all had plastic Avengers masks on.

"Wow, you're the Avengers," Peter said with feigned excitement. He shot a web at robber, pulling him in closer for me to punch.

He was out cold in a second.

I squared up with a man in a Thor mask, sweeping his leg and punching him too.

Peter got knocked backward into a glass poster frame by some kind of blast of energy. The robber in the Captain America mask picked him up with this ray gun, hitting Peter off of the ceiling then the floor, then the ceiling again.

I came up from behind and wrapped my arm around the robber's neck, causing him to drop the energy field off of Peter, then I kneed him where the sun don't shine.

"Let's wrap this up, it's a school night," Peter said and shot the ray gun with his webs, making the man's entire arm stick to the wall.

"So how did jerks like you get tech like this?" I said, going to take off the mask of the man who had his arm stuck to the wall.

The robber who I had previously knocked out had gotten ahold of his own ray gun, sending a blast aimed at Peter. I pushed the man's arm out of the way and in a split second, the beam of energy shot across the street and into the Deli where we had gotten our sandwiches.

"Mr. Delmar!" Peter realized, running across to the deli which was catching fire.

I ran after him into the burning building and helped Peter escort both Mr. Delmar and his shop cat out to safety.

"You—" Mr. Delmar weakly pointed to me. "Free sandwiches . . . for life."

I patted him on the back sympathetically. 

As we looked across the street and into the bank, we realized the robbers were gone.

Peter looked to me. "Let me fly you home."

The two of us flew and swung to the Avengers Tower where people were busy loading boxes on nearly every floor.

I cursed under my breath. I had forgotten to pack. 

"Happy, the craziest thing just happened to me," Peter began, going up to a man overseeing most of the packing. "These guys were robbing an ATM with these high-tech weapons—" 

"Okay, take a breath," Happy said. "I don't have time for ATM robberies, I have moving day to worry about. Everything's got to be outta here by next week."

He was clearly stressed. 

"Wait, wait, you're moving?" Peter said, looking to me. "Who's moving?"

"Haven't you been watching the news? Tony sold Avengers tower. We're relocating to a new facility upstate."

"But what about Eve?" Peter asked. 

"She'll be attending the same school, don't you worry," Happy said. "You're gonna be put up in the same building as Peter."

"Really?" I said, looking to Peter.

"Yes, really," Happy mumbled, looking out across all of the stacks of boxes. 

"But what about if Mr. Stark needs either one of us?" Peter asked. 

"Just stay away from anything too dangerous," Happy said. "Look, I'm responsible for making sure you're responsible, okay? Now do the responsible thing and help your friend move in," Happy said, fishing keys out of his pocket and handing them to me. "Eve, your things have already been sent over to the apartment."

I smiled, looking down at the keys in my hand. "Thanks, Happy," I said.

"No problem," Happy said with a brief smile. "And kid, one more thing: Tony said he'll be giving you a ring about that suit soon."

My mouth hung open slightly. "Could you tell him thank you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"And I'd maybe like a mask, like Peter?" I added.

"I'll see what I can do." Happy turned away from us and answered his phone.

I looked to Peter who was simply beaming. "Ready to move in?"


	15. XIV - The Robbery

As we reached the alleyway where we had left our bags, we realized that they were no longer there.

"Typical Parker Luck," Peter mumbled to himself. "Sorry I got your bag lost."

"It's okay," I said. "It just had homework and a sandwich anyway. Whoever found it won't be very excited with pre-calc."

Peter laughed, pulling me upwards and into the sky once more.

We made our way up the stairs and into our apartment building.

"You wait here," Peter said. "I gotta go change and then come down because Aunt May can't see me like this."

"Got it."

Peter sprung up the side of the brick building, slid open the window and into his room. A minute later, he slid right back out and down the side of the building.

We went up the stairs, all the way to the seventh floor. Peter entered his apartment where he was greeted by whom I assumed to be his aunt.

"Glad you made it home," she said, kissing the top of his head while I stood awkwardly in the doorway.

It made me miss Charles and my brother Warren.

"And who's this?" the woman asked, turning to me.

"May, this is Eve," Peter said, pulling me into the apartment.

I could see in May's face she had not previously notice my wings by the way her eyes slightly widened as the entirety of the feathers was brought into the small apartment.

"She's a friend from school," Peter said. "And the Stark internship program."

May smiled kindly and shook my hand. "Nice to meet you Eve. I'm Peter's Aunt May."

"She's also going to be moving in where Ms. Dalenas used to live so I was gonna stop over and help her move in, if that's okay," Peter said, moving to leave the apartment.

"That's okay, Pete," said May. "Do you wanna take her to dinner with us too? A kind of welcome gift?"

Peter looked to me, asking with his eyes.

"Okay," I said with a shrug. "Thank you."

"We'll be right over!" Peter said and shut his door quickly behind him.

As I turned the key to my new apartment, I was surprised to find most of my clothes already put away in my closet, my bed made, and even food in the fridge.

The only things not unpacked were my personal decorations.

"Wow," I said, taking a look around. "This is pretty nice."

"You got this place to yourself?" Peter began. "Lucky." He picked up a framed photo in my box of stuff. "Hey, who's this?"

I looked at the photo his hands. It was of me Warren and Charles. We had gotten it as sort of a family portrait.

"That's my brother," I said, pointed to Warren.

"I didn't know you had a brother," said Peter.

"He's my twin," I elaborated. "We were both adopted to different families so we never knew each other that well. He ended up coming to Charles' school," I said pointing out Charles. "He's my guardian but he's also the head professor at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters in New York."

"I've heard of that place," Peter said.

"Yeah, it gets a bad rap," I mumbled with a shrug. "People still don't like mutants."

"No, no, I mean _recently,"_ Peter insisted. "Didn't it explode?"

 _"What?"_ I pressed. I pulled out my cell and googled the name of the school. The auto-fill put explosion after it.

"Oh my god, that was today," I realized, clicking on a photo. My fingers began to shake as I dialed Charles' number.

 _"Pick up, pick up, pick up,"_ I pleaded. The line went to voicemail. I grunted, instead dialing Hank's number.

A familiar voice picked up, just not the one I wanted to hear. "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, this is Hank McCoy."

"Hank!" I nearly shouted. "It's Eve!"

"Eve? Have you heard the news—"

"I know, the school exploded!" I butt in. "Please, put Charles on."

Hank sighed. "Well, uh . . . he's not here," he said with an uneasy, cautious tone.

 _"What?_ Where is he? What about Warren?" I asked quickly.  
I looked over my shoulder to see Peter giving me a concerned look.

"There's this mutant—" Hank began. "Apocalypse, his name is. Eve, h-he's got them: Charles and Warren."

"Where, Hank?"

Hank took a shaky breath. "I'm getting a team together to take the Quinjet."

 _"Where, Hank?"_ I pressed.

"Cairo . . . Eve, I don't want you to—"

The line went dead.

"No, no, no!" I yelled. "Hank? Hank!" I spat helplessly at the phone.


	16. New Suit

In a second, I had gone from having a fun day as a semi-normal teenager, and in the next worrying about the only family I had.

Apocalypse had taken them.

Cairo, Egypt.

"I need to get to Cairo," I said, shoving my phone in my pocket.

"What, why?" said Peter. "That guy on the line said he didn't want you to go. It's gonna be dangerous. The guy's name is Apocalypse."

"They're the only family I have," I said, looking down at the photograph in my hand.

"But how?" Peter said. "You can't fly to Cairo, Eve."

"Maybe I can," I said shakily. 

"It'll kill you!" Peter protested, taking me by the shoulders. "You'll be no good to them dead!"

He was right.

"What am I supposed to do?" I began. "Stay here in New York and worry about them? Try and go to school?"

"Didn't that Hank guy say he was getting a team together?" Peter asked.

"Yeah," I sniffed. I had begun crying. 

"That mean's he hasn't left yet," said Peter.

My eyes widened in realization. "Thank you!" I kissed Peter's cheek and ran for the window, turning around for a second. 

"Tell May I had to raincheck for homework or something!" I called, throwing open the glass pane.

"Sure . . ." Peter trailed off, rubbing the spot where I had kissed him. "Don't die!" Peter yelled after me as I fell to the ground slowly.

"I'll be back!" I shouted up to him from the street. "Two days, tops!"

I flew across the streets of New York, faster than I've ever flown before. My wings were sore from all the activity earlier in the day but still I pressed on. 

As I reached closer and closer to my destination, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out quickly, checking desperately to see if it was Charles.

It was Tony Stark.

"Hello?" I answered as casually as I could. I was rather out of breath from all the flying.

"Eve, it's Tony. I got your suit all finished up here if you want to come get it at the new facility. I'm sending you the coordinates now and—why does it sound windy?"

"I'm flying over to you now," I said. Luckily the new Avengers Facility was on the way to Charles' school. "Charles is in trouble and I'm taking the Quinjet to Cairo soon."

"What? What kind of trouble, Avengers kind of trouble?" Tony asked.

"I'd bet on it," I said, landing at the doors of the Avengers facility. "I'm outside."

"That was fast," said Tony opening the door for me as he ended the call. "Sounds like you're in a rush. Should I assemble the team?" he offered seriously.

"Well, there's this mutant named Apocalypse. From what I remember, he's ancient. Crazy powerful, too," I explained. "If you could keep a perimeter . . ."

"Already on it," said Tony, punching a couple buttons on his phone. 

I breathed out a shallow sigh of relief. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

Tony handed me the folded black suit and gave me a firm pat on the shoulder. "Well, don't be shy, try it on."

I slipped the sleek black material on over my clothes. Though the suit was dark in color, little bits of silver peeked through as different parts caught the light, much like fish scales. Pressing a hand to my chest just as I had seen Peter do with his suit, I made the suit tighten to fit me. 

"You've been hanging out with Parker, I suspect," Tony mumbled. "This thing is gonna keep you from getting really hurt," he explained, pinching the fabric off my arm. "It can absorb those hard hits and mostly deflect cuts and slashes."

"Mostly?" I confirmed anxiously. 

"The material is a work in progress, but hey, it's better than nothing. You'll be needing this too." Tony produced a beautiful metal sword and knighted me with it with a small smile.

"Thor helped me design this," he explained. "It's made of Vibranium, just like Cap's shield. No more rebar—"

I took the sword and hugged him. "Thank you."

"Stay safe, kid," Tony said, patting my back. "We'll have reinforcements over there soon."

I nodded and with a flap of my dark feathers, I was in the air and on my way to the school. I could only hope Hank hadn't left yet.


	17. When, Not If

When I finally reached the school, I was exhausted, yet relieved. 

Somehow, the school was in fact, not blown up, and was back in one piece. I was confident with our students and staff's abilities they could easily have put the school back together.

I made a beeline for the basement that led down into Hank's workshop and the underground hangar for the Quinjet.

"Hank!" I called.

"Eve?" He slid out from under the jet. "I thought I told you not to—"

I embraced him tightly, tears forming in my eyes. "I'm gone for two days and the school gets blown up?" I laughed through my crying.

"Eve," Hank said sympathetically. 

"We going to fight this guy, or what?" I said, wiping my eyes. 

"I don't want you to get hurt," Hank protested. "That's the last thing Charles needs."

"I can handle myself, Hank," I assured him. "Stark gave me this suit to protect me. And this sword," I said, pointing to the sheathed weapon at my side.

"Eve, this is _Apocalypse_ we're talking about. You're not going to defeat him with a sword."

"Hank, please," I began. "I need to do this." I didn't dare to break eye contact. 

"Fine," Hank finally decided. "But—"

 _"Hear me, inhabitants of this world."_ Charles' voice hit me. 

"Charles?" I looked to Hank who was just as confused as I was. The voice was in our heads but Charles was all the way in Cairo.

_"This is a message. A message to every man, woman, and mutant. You have lost your way. But I have returned."_

"Apocalypse is making Charles speak for him," Hank realized. "He's somehow speaking into the minds of the whole world!"

"This is bad . . ." I mumbled

_"The day of reckoning, it is here. All your buildings . . . All your buildings and temples . . . will fall. The dawn of a new era will emerge. For there is nothing you can do . . . This message is for one reason alone: to tell the those with the greatest power."_

There was a pause. 

My hand rested on the hilt of my sword cautiously. 

Charles continued: _"Protect those without."_

It seemed the speech was over.

"Hank what was that?" four teens rushed in to the hangar.

First to arrive was Peter Maximoff, also know as Quicksilver.

Jean Gray: the Phoenix.

Scott Summers: Cyclopes.

Kurt Wagner: Nightcrawler.

Followed by Raven, Charles' childhood friend, AKA Mystique.

_I need to get myself a code name,_ I thought. 

"Apocalypse is using Charles to amplify his message," Hank explained. "We gotta go, now."

"When did Eve get here?" Peter asked.

"Couple minutes ago. I'm coming to help," I said. "My brother and Charles are in trouble."

"The Quin's ready, let's go," Hank said, opening the ramp to the jet.

A pit of fear grew in my stomach. As we loaded the Quinjet, I pulled out my phone and quickly sent Peter a text:

_On my way to Cairo. Maybe we could go to Homecoming together if I come back?_

_When you come back*_ Peter texted quickly. _And yea, I'd like that :)_

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and leaned into the harness of the jet seat, trying to get my heart to stop pounding. 

_When I come back_ , I repeated in my head.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Takes place during _X-Men: Apocalypse_  
  
  


After a very anxious flight, we landed in Cairo.

When I stepped out into the desert heat, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword cautiously.

Twenty or so feet away stood Apocalypse and his four horsemen. Charles lay on the ground, removed from his wheelchair.

These four horsemen were unfortunately made up of two people I knew: Charles' old friend Erik Lehnsherr—Magneto, and my brother Warren. Charles looked over to Warren, seemingly sharing a thought.

Upon seeing my twin and the man who raised me, I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming.

After seeing the break in my nerves, Hank briefly pulled me back inside the Quinjet. "It's okay, it's okay," he assured me. "We're gonna make it okay, Eve," Hank said firmly.

I nodded and swallowed the pain in my throat.

I never freaked in the face of danger. But when it came to my family, suddenly my heart was pounding and I was on the verge of tears.

As I stepped back out of the Quinjet, Magneto was levitating above the sand, pulling metal from the ground and creating a barrier with shards of metallic pieces. The pieces bended and warped into a giant metal pyramid.

Apocalypse descended down into the strange structure carrying Charles.

Anger building, I sprinted towards the pyramid, drawing my sword. Chunks of metal swirled around me. A large sheet hit my chest and pushed me back rather gently.

I looked up to Erik whose face was conflicted. "I don't want to hurt you, Eve," he yelled across the sand dunes. "But I will if I must."

"Is power that important to you?" I shot back, stepping out of the path of the flying shards of metal. "Well, you know what's important to me? Saving my family."

I ran then took flight, praying Tony's suit would protect me from flying bits of metal. As I reached the entrance of the pyramid, I could hear the voices of my friends behind me as they were stuck fighting their way out of the Quinjet.

Magneto hadn't stopped me, but Warren did.

There, in the doorway of the great metal pyramid, stood Warren. His blonde hair curled wildly on top of his shaved head. His face had black designs swirled on it—which I hoped was just warpaint and not actual tattoos. But Warren's once white feathered wings . . . were made of metal.

I smirked at him, trying to keep worry from sliding onto my face. "This is some rebellious phase, I'd say. But I'm here for you and Charles. Though I didn't think I'd find you on the wrong side."

"Eve, it's not what it looks like," Warren said quickly. "Apocalypse was going to come after _you_ if I didn't join him," my brother explained. "I never wanted to. But if it meant I could stay in close proximity to Charles—"

"I understand," I said, my hand brushing the tattoos on his face. "You look . . . ridiculous," I added. "What about Charles?"

"He's down in the pyramid. I-I don't know what Apocalypse is going to do to him. I can't stop him. I've just been going along with his plan. I didn't want anyone to get hurt . . . I'm sorry."

I moved my hand down his cheek, rubbing the black designs. "Those better not be permanent," I said simply.

The pyramid began rumbling unnaturally as if it were trying to throw us off the side.

I drew my sword and sprinted down into the depths of the warped metal structure. Warren followed after me.

What I saw next made my heart drop:

Apocalypse laid on a golden, glowing platform. Charles lay parallel to him, their bodies rising through the air, propelled by nothing but a strange purple aura.

As I reached the alter, Charles screamed, his eyes going black and his veins bulging.

I put my sword away and yanked him off the table, throwing his limp body over my shoulder. Warren watched my back as we ran out before Apocalypse would wake.

Kurt saw Warren and I sprinting across the desert sands. He intercepted us then teleported us into a nearby abandoned house. Quickly, the other X-Men found their way to hide with us.

Charles lay twitching across a woven rug left in the house.

I rubbed my hand over his now bald head looking down at him in worry. His hair had seemingly disintegrated in the ritual.

With a guttural gasp, Charles' eyes jolted open, the black lens dissipating from them.

 _"Evie?"_ he breathed in disbelief. He hadn't called me that in years.

"I'm here," I said softly, tears forming in my eyes as I took his hand. "Warren's here too."

Warren broke down when Charles looked over to him.  
"I'm so sorry," my brother said. "I didn't mean for any of this—"

"Nobody did," said Charles. He sat up then pulled us together.

I breathed a sigh of relief. My little family was whole again.

"You look ridiculous," Charles said, referring to Warren's hair and facial designs.

Warren frowned playfully. "I get it, I get it," he said.

Charles gripped the side of my face with a grin. "You! And your new suit—very lovely by the way—you keep giving us these scares with all your save-the-day missions." He sighed. "I'm so glad you're alright." Charles hand moved down my head gently, then ruffled Warren's blond mop-top.

And for a moment, even amidst all the chaos, all I saw was my family as if the world had faded away.

I stood and hugged Kurt, Scott, Jean, and finally Hank and all his blue.

"Good job, kid," Hank grumbled with a smile.

Before we could gather our wits and potentially form a plan, the wall of the house crumbled away to reveal Apocalypse and what was left of his Horsemen.


	19. Hold On

TW: blood/injury

I fell gracefully from the second level of the house as the outer wall had been ripped clean off allowing me easy exit.

Apocalypse stepped forwards, looking me up and down and assessing my power.

He reared his hand back and shot shards of metal across the desert right towards me.

I felt an impact in my lower torso but I ignored it, high off of adrenaline.

Two steel beams fell in front of me creating the symbolic X, blocking most of the attack.

Magneto, who was floating above the scene, had caused this. He had disobeyed Apocalypse and the deity wouldn't be taking it lightly.

"You betray me?" Apocalypse spat at Magneto.

"No. I betrayed them," Erik answered, levitating downwards.

Metal began flying towards Apocalypse, burning up on impact as the deity had created a powerful forcefield.

Hank and Scott jumped down to join me.

Hank's blue form raced along the sand and pulled Raven out of harm's way. He swiftly then freed Peter's foot that had become cemented in the ground during the fray. The speedster stood up and zipped over to join me.

"Good to see you," Peter whispered. He took a knee then leaned against a chunk of rubble.

I sheathed my sword and moved to Peter's side. He gripped his ankle in pain. Luckily, it didn't look broken, just sprained. Peter removed his goggles and slid to the ground, tapping out.

Scott removed his goggles and fired upon Apocalypse, joining Erik. For a moment, I wished I had powers such as theirs. Hank had been right; I felt useless with just my sword.

The battle had begun in a moment, then ended in one. Scott, Erik, and Jean blasted the deity with their mutant power, causing him to fall to his knees then disappear into dust.

The dust cleared and settled down on the dunes once more, blending in with the sand.

Surprisingly, the only casualty was Apocalypse and the woman who had the ability to wield this pink energy.

 _All battles ought to be fought in the desert,_ I thought with a small smirk, a cramp forming in my side. I hoped Stark had gotten that perimeter set up.

"Evelyn?" called a voice. Only Charles called me that.

I flew up into the house where he was sitting up on his own accord, out of his trance. Apocalypse had been playing mind games and Charles had won.

"Are you alright?" I asked, kneeling down to check him over for wounds.

Warren flew up into the house after me. Warren's face no longer had tattoos and his wings were no longer metal as Apocalypse's power had faded from him. His pristine white feathers along with my black wings mixed and spilled out the back of the house.

"I'm okay," Charles assured me, taking my hands in his. "What about you? Evelyn, Evelyn?"

I blinked hard. My vision was going blurry.

Charles' voice was fading in and out of my ears. He pulled his hands off of mine, a look of horror crossing his face a he realized his hands were dark red. I stumbled forward from my kneeling position, the heels of my hands impacting the wooden floor.

"Hank! Hank!" I heard Charles yell in a panic, but it sounded like far-off music.

Darkness was beginning to pull at the edges of my vision.

I looked down to my torso. A large patch of Stark's suit had been torn away and replaced with a piece of warped metal, crimson dripping around it.

I felt like I was going to vomit.

A figure floated down into the house . . . Erik.

"Erik, isn't there something you can do?" Charles pleaded with his former friend.

"The best I can do is pull it out, and I fear that would only make it worse," he said solemnly.

I could feel my body slowly sinking into Charles' arms as I could no longer hold myself upright.

"It's going to be okay, Evelyn," Charles said. "Warren, take her back to the Quinjet as carefully as you can."

I was shifted into my brother's arms.

It was at this point I began to lose patches of time.

I blinked and I was in the Quinjet. I blinked again and Hank was standing over me. I blinked once more and I was being moved on a gurney with concerned faces leaning over me.

"Stay with us, Eve," commanded a voice. It was . . . _Doctor Banner?_ But that must have meant I was already back in New York.

 _"Jesus,_ kid." That was unmistakably Tony Stark.

I felt as if my limbs each weighed one hundred pounds. I realized an oxygen mask was on my face. Flexing my fingers, I could feel all of the things like heart monitors and IV lines attached to me.

"We're taking her into emergency surgery," said Doctor Banner. "We're going to try our best."

"Eve, if you can hear me, this is Warren," said my brother, taking my limp hand in his. "You're gonna be fine, you hear me?"

"Evie . . . I love you, okay . . . come back to us, Evelyn . . . just hold on a little longer," a familiar voice pleaded.

 _"Okay . . ."_ I managed to croak.

 _Charles._ _Hold on for Charles_.


End file.
